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On this November 11, 2018 photo, South Korean soldiers are preparing to load tangerine boxes near the South Korean Air Force's C-130 cargo plane at the airport. 39, Jeju International Airport on Jeju Island, South Korea. South Korea has airlifted thousands of tangerines to North Korea in exchange for large shipments of northern pine mushrooms in September (Park Ji-ho / Yonhap via AP) (Associated Press)
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea is shipping thousands of boxes of mandarins to North Korea in exchange for large shipments of northern pine mushrooms in September, officials in Seoul said on Monday.
South Korea announced that it would send 200 tons of mandarins from Jeju Island to South Korea on Monday afternoon. Seoul's Ministry of Defense announced that military planes flew to Pyongyang twice on Sunday to deliver the fruits and that they will do the same on Monday.
After the September inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea donated 2 tons of pine mushrooms to South Korea as goodwill. Pine mushrooms are large white mushrooms that are considered a delicacy for health, both in Korea and other Asian countries. It is one of the most popular regional products in the North, which the country shipped to South Korea in 2000 and 2007, following previous summits.
Air transport of mandarins is a sign that the two Koreas continue their efforts to improve their relations despite the blocking of global diplomacy on the North Korean nuclear program. According to Seoul and Washington officials, North Korea has recently postponed high-level talks with the United States to discuss North Korean nuclear disarmament and the establishment of a second summit. between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
After provocative tests of its nuclear tests and missiles last year, North Korea began talks with the United States and South Korea this year, saying it was ready to give up its military arsenal . The North has since taken measures such as the dismantling of its nuclear test site and parts of its rocket engine testing facilities, but the US authorities want the country to take greater and irreversible measures to denuclearization.
South Korean Liberal President Moon Jae-in was at the origin of American and North Korean diplomacy. Moon has met Kim three times this year.
Moon's Ministry of Unification announced Monday that it had approved the visit of seven North Koreans to attend a university forum in South Korea later this week. The forum focuses on regional issues, including the mobilization of Japanese workers during the war in the Asia-Pacific region.
Seoul announced on Saturday that the two Koreas have finished withdrawing their troops and firearms from some of their front-line guards as part of their agreements to reduce military tensions between countries. The Koreas interrupted military exercises along their border and cleared mines in a border area to conduct their first ever joint search for death in the Korean War.
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